Pro-Palestinian protest continues after meeting cancelled between students and Western officials
Protesters have been calling on Western University to stop investing in companies that send arms to Israel
Organizers of a pro-Palestinian protest encampment at Western University say the school's administration cancelled a planned meeting after refusing to allow a faculty member supportive of the protest in the room to act as their advisor.
University officials had intended to meet with students Thursday evening to "keep the dialogue going and find a way forward," according to a written statement released the day before.
The school also expressed concerns of unsafe and illegal behaviour, and called for an end to the encampment which has entered its third week.
Students brought Michael Lynk, an associate law professor at the university and a former United Nations special rapporteur for Palestinian human rights, to the meeting but were told the meeting was only open to students.
"It was very disappointing. If you look at the administration we're meeting with, there's a huge power imbalance between them and the students," said Mahmood Elsaleh, one of four student representatives who attended the meeting.
"That's why we requested to have Professor Lynk present, however they made it very clear that if he doesn't leave, then they are cancelling the meeting."
CBC has asked Western to confirm if they cancelled the meeting for this reason, however the university has not yet responded.
The administration said previously that there have been incidents of theft, vandalism and aggressive behaviour, as well as allegations of hate speech originating from someone with ties to the encampment.
"The encampment at Western is increasingly concerning. Incidents of unsafe and illegal behaviour are mounting, and the university's core principles are being compromised," university officials wrote.
"It is unlawful and unsafe, and now is the time for it to end."
The tents outside the student community centre are among numerous other encampment protests at universities across North America that began as a response to deaths as the Israel-Hamas war rages on in Gaza. Protesters say they want the schools to divest from companies that support Israel.
On Thursday, University of Toronto gave student protesters a 24-hour deadline to consider its latest offer, or else be issued tresspassing notices. The school's president Meric Gertler said ties will not be cut with Israeli universities but disclosing investments could be explored.
For three weeks, CBC News has requested interviews with Western officials, including vice-provost of students John Doerksen and president Alan Shepard, about the protest, but those requests have been denied by communication staff who field inquiries, with no reasons given.
London police confirmed members of its liaison team have been engaged with both Western and protest organizers.
Meanwhile, support has grown among faculty for the students who are in the encampment. A group calling itself Western Faculty for Palestine says it supports the students' right to protest and condemns "all forms of repression, incrimination, and retribution that may be directed at [the protesters' while the Liberation Zone is operating or any time in the future."
David Heap, an associate arts and humanities professor at Western rejects the university's claims of unsafe and illegal activity, adding that he's been at the encampments since the beginning and calls on the school to provide concrete examples of such behaviour.
"Western has to come to the table with not random vice-presidents but with the finance department and the people who actually run the investments for Western, who can seriously engage with issues of disclosure, divestment and disengagement," he said.
Students will continue staying put at the encampments and are still hoping for a dialogue with Western any time, said Elsaleh.
"The students have been here for 15 days now, we always welcome peaceful dialogue and dialogue that is useful to our goals and our demands. Students are happy to have an actual negotiation with concrete steps, so the ball is in their court" he said.
"Hopefully the [administration's response] is better than what happened today because what happened today is very disappointing."